Housing secretary Steve Reed, a close ally of Keir Starmer, has urged Labour colleagues to put the “country first, party second” even as he admits the prime minister is “unpopular”. Speaking on the media round this morning, Reed told Sky News that replacing an unpopular prime minister is not the solution. “Each of the last four prime ministers, in turn, has been the most unpopular prime minister we’ve ever had,” he said. “What we need to do is all of us come together behind the prime minister and focus on how we can deliver the change the British public want to see faster.”
A leadership challenge appears inevitable, with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham potentially entering the race. However, Reed bluntly stated “there is no leadership challenge” and criticised the “internal-facing nonsense” plaguing the party. He told the BBC: “If people wanted to gather the nominations then it’s open for them to do that – they would need to find enough Labour MPs that wanted to endorse them but nobody has done that.”
Reed added: “It’s been a very difficult week but we need to take a breath now, take this weekend to reflect on what’s going on, and come back next week and focus on the country we were elected to serve.” Responding to reports that Starmer considered his position last night, Reed told Times Radio “that isn’t true”, emphasising that “the Labour party will not copy the chaos we saw under the Conservatives.”
Labour MP Josh Simons announced yesterday he would stand down from his constituency in Makerfield to allow Burnham to stand as a candidate in a byelection. Simons said he believed Burnham could “drive the change our country is crying out for”. “We have lost the trust of those our party was built to serve. It is my unwavering belief that nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference,” he told BBC Radio Manchester.
